Revolver versatility

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CopperFouling

CopperFouling

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I've just been thinking lately about revolvers that can chamber more than one type of cartridge. I can think of the following off the top of my head:

.38 Special / .357 Magnum
.44 Special / .44 Magnum
.460 S&W / .454 Casull / .45 Colt

What other cartridge combinations can you think of? And which would be best against an enraged, charging grizzly? :D Okay, I am joking about the last part.
 
I believe the .327 Federal Magnum can chamber virtually all of the common .32 caliber rounds, such as S&W Long, and H&R Magnum. In fact, it can even chamber .32ACP ammo thanks to the partial rim of that caliber.
 
You forgot the 357 can chamber the 38 S&W which is shorter than the 38 Special.
Make room for the 44 American and 44 Russian in the 44 Special/Maggie line.
The 45 Colt will also chamber the 45 Schofield.
The 38 Long Colt will chamber the 357, but you may need a new gun after the hammer drops.

The one main advantage of revolvers is their tolerance of imperfect ammo dimensions and power.
A semi has very strict requirements for power and cartridge length.
Failing to provide "perfect" ammo results in jams.
Not a big deal as long as your supply chain is intact.
 
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^ What he said,

However there are exactly 2 more rounds that are compatible with a .357 revolver. They are .38 Colt and .38 Long Colt. They are now obsolete, underpowered and the shorter you get in cartridge OAL the more "free-bore" you are dealing with. Not great alternatives....just sayin'.
 
IIRC, .327 FM can handle .32 H&R, .32 Long, .32 Short, AND .32 ACP (occasionally).
 
Don't forget that a .357 magnum can fire .38 Short Colt and .38 Long Colt. So can a .38 special revolver.

I bought a box of Remington Short Colts a while back, and ran them through my Ruger GP100 with a 6" barrel with full lug. Talk about fun! Extremely low recoil, felt like shooting a pellet gun and was pretty accurate.
 
Does anyone know if a .45 Colt could be cut for moon clips to use .45 ACP? Or if .45 Auto Rim could be shot from a .45 Colt cylinder? That's always intrigued me.
 
How about 22 pest (small birdshot) loads through a 22 revolver. Works just fine on birds or carpenter bees works just fine on bats too.
 
Colt makes a DA called 'the Governor' that takes 45LC, 45 ACP and .410 shotshell. There's also the .45 Auto Rim which was designed for the Model 1917 revolver, which typically took 45 ACP in full or half-moon clips. I would imagine the 45 Auto rim would work well enough in any .454 Casull or .460 S&W reolver, at about the same high cost :rolleyes:


There's a lot of combinations and more all the time.

By switching cylinders, some revolvers can shoot 9mm and .38/.357 family cartridges through the same barrel. Ruger makes .22 mag cylinders that can be swapped out with .22LR cylinders on some of their single-actions.

On the big bore side, there's a S&W .500 Special to accompany the big .500 Magnum. There's also .475 Linebaugh and .480 Ruger (I think the ruger is the longer cartridge).

One gun I really want is the S&W 610. Shoots 10mm and .40 S&W! :D
 
Actually a good .357 Magnum can take:

1. with .22 inserts it can shoot .22 lr. or .22 magnum (MCA sports will do it for you.)
2. .38 short and long colt will shoot fine.
3. .38 Special.
4. .357 Magnum
5. SOME .38 Supers will chamber and fire in a .357 Magnum.
6. .38 shot caps are made for them.
7. there is even .38 special tracer ammo you can use in it.

Deaf
 
Judgeholden10 said:

Does anyone know if a .45 Colt could be cut for moon clips to use .45 ACP? Or if .45 Auto Rim could be shot from a .45 Colt cylinder? That's always intrigued me.
Click to expand...

The .45 Auto Rim cartridge has a very thick rim, will not fit into an unaltered .45 Colt cylinder, headspace would not permit.

As to cutting a cylinder down for moon clips, probably could be done, but not real practical. Seems best to have an auxilliary cylinder for .45 ACP in a Single Action revovler.

Bob Wright
 
West Kentucky:
357 cannot take 38sw. Fatter bullet and fatter cartridge. That one don't work.
Click to expand...

Yes, and that's true for the .38 Special revolver, too. But soon as you say that, someone comes ups with a loose chambered gun and low and behold! a .38 S&W round will drop right in!

Bob Wright
 
Judge...Yes! Absolutely! A company called Pinnacle did my S&W 625 Mountain gun. They milled the cylinder so it will take moon clips allowing me to load and shoot 45ACP's. (It was born a 45 Colt). I developed a load that shoots 250 gr Keith in the LC and 250 gr RNFP in an ACP to the same POI. Its a super versatile revolver.
 
Judge...Yes! Absolutely! A company called Pinnacle did my S&W 625 Mountain gun. They milled the cylinder so it will take moon clips allowing me to load and shoot 45ACP's. (It was born a 45 Colt). I developed a load that shoots 250 gr Keith in the LC and 250 gr RNFP in an ACP to the same POI. Its a super versatile revolver.
Click to expand...

That is awesome. Have any pics?

And is this the gentleman who converted your .45? http://www.pinnacle-guns.com/revolver.asp He has some really intriguing combinations listed.
 
Or if .45 Auto Rim could be shot from a .45 Colt cylinder? That's always intrigued me.
Click to expand...
No, it can't.

The .45 Auto Rim cartridge was designed with an extra thick case rim to make up the difference between half-moon clipped .45 ACP in a S&W or Colt 1917 revolver with a much thicker rimmed revolver cartridge.

The .45 ACP case rim is .049" thick.
The clip is typically .038" thick.
That comes out to a combined thickness of about 087".
The .45 AR case rim is .090" thick.

The .45 Colt rim is only .060" thick.

Bottom line is No.
There is No Way you can close the cylinder or loading gate in a .45 Colt revolver on a .45 Auto-Rim cartridge.

You can shoot them in .45 ACP chambered DA revolvers without using clips though, as that is what they were designed for.

You can't use them in .45 ACP chambered SA revolvers though, as there is not enough headspace clearance in them to allow cylinder rotation.


Rc
 
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Judge,yes, that is the correct website. Here is a picture of the revolver. Sorry, Only one I have. Pinnacle did a great job. The price was reasonable and the turnaround was pretty fast, like a couple of weeks or less as I recall.
IMG_20130728_102502_813_zps6f78a348.jpg
 
Any revolver chambered for the 45 long Colt will also chamber the 45 S&W (Schoffield) and the 45 Cowboy Special.

I am aware of some gunsmiths who will cut the long Colt cylinder to handle the 45 ACP in moon clips but only in a DA revolver.

I have an Italian Colt clone that has cylincers for both the long COlt and the ACP. It is possibly my favorite SA revolver.
 
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